The Book of Ae
by dark dhampir
Summary: Here it is: the guide book to the World Tree Multiverse. Explanations on the background and the larger scene. WARNING: There will be varying digrees of spoilers for the series. I won't give away the series' finale or anything, but you will end up reading some info in here before it appears in the stories. Just giving you a heads-up.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: **I'm borrowing most of this from Tolkien and the rest from Robert Jordan,Norse and Hindu cosmology, and inspired (kind of) by the Book of Genesis.

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**Creation:**

_In the Beginning, there was nothing but the Void. Then, the Creator, who is called _Eru _and _Iluvatar _and other names, fashioned a wonderful Tree amid the nothingness, a Tree whose leaves held every star in the sky and whose roots clung to the back of a giant Turtle. He called the Tree _Ae,_The World That is, and the Turtle, _Dor Fir-i-Guinar,_ The Land of the Dead that Live. From the tree's limbs hung nine worlds, similar but each unique. Together, they are __Arda, __The Mortal Worlds. In the tree's highest bows lived nine gods trusted to watch over Creation; these were the_ Valar, _The Powers That Be, and the Creator made a place for them, called _Valinor._ Among the Tree's roots, on the turtle's back, the souls of the dead were gathered until it was time to return to the worlds in the next Age. This is why the Turtle was named __Dor Fir-i-Guinar.__ For the Creator hung a great Wheel with seven spokes above the Tree, the Wheel of Time, and set it to spin a great Pattern using the all He had made as its threads, over countless millennia, and each spoke would represent one Age in the Pattern. In each Age, the souls of the dead would return from their resting place upon the Turtle's back and would be reborn, remembering little of their previous lives, but again taking part in the history of their world, until the Seventh Age, when all the worlds would end. What will happen then, no one knows, save perhaps the Valar. Then, the Creator stood back to watch His work unfold._

_One of the gods, however, was not content with watching the Pattern unfold. The greatest gifts of power and knowledge had been gifted to him, and he desired to bring forth things new and unthought of, even by the Creator, and to be master of all things. _Melkor,_ he called himself, He Who Arises in Might. Now, the Creator had made many other spirits, not mortal, who also resided in __Valinor, __serving the __Valar;_ Maiar, _they are called_._ Melkor__ gathered a great host of these spirits onto himself and, when he dreamed his force strong enough, assailed the Wheel, seeking to claim it for his own. But the other eight rose against him and beat him back, and they cast him out. But __Melkor,__ whom the others named _Morgoth_-the Dark Enemy, promised he would return at the end of the Age, at the end of every Age, until all __Ae __was his. _

_The Creator then brought forth a new god to take __Morgoth's__ place amongst those who stayed true and He promised the remaining gods that each time evil arose in any world, either from __Morgoth__ or from the vices of mortal life, there would come forth heroes and a Champion, to combat it and restore the balance between law and chaos._

_And so, for three Ages, the gods watched over the worlds, and saw the battle of Good and Evil rage. Now, Fourth Age Draws to a close, and evil rises again in the worlds, as Morgoth prepares his next attack._

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Care to take a look?


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Notes: OK, I haven't gotten much support for this, but I'm going to keep updating it intermittently, especially as more and more of the _World Tree_ plot gets developed. As I said in _Harry Potter and the Past Lives, _this is the closest thing this series has to a fanwiki (unless one of you fine readers wants to set one up for me-shameless Hint, shameless Hint).**

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**The Valar: Gods of the Tree**

Manwe: Surnamed Sulimo, Lord of Breath, spouse of Varda, brethren to Morgoth, Manwe is regent of all Arda. He commands the winds which blow through the worlds, and he loves all birds and other creatures which fly. Chiefest of these are his own Eagles, who speak the tongues of mortals and soar with wingspans tens of feet long. Manwe also delights in poetry and music, and is considered the wisest of the gods, the one who most understands the Creator's purposes. Yet, Manwe himself is not infallible, and he has one flaw: he is pure and free of evil and so does not understand it in others. His Sigil is his sapphire scepter

Varda: Espoused to Manwe, she is called Elbereth, and the Kindler and the Queen of the Stars, Tintalle and Elentari. Light is her power and her joy. Her mastery extends from the rays of the noontime sun to the glow of the evening stars. When she and Manwe stand together, they see farther than all other eyes and their ears more keenly than all other ears, and little is hidden from them. And Morgoth hates her above all other gods, for he sought to sway her to his side in the beginning, but she knew him and rejected him before any of the others. Thus it was Varda who first brought Morgoth's treachery into open knowledge. Her Sigil is her diamond crown.

Ulmo: Alone among the Valar. He has neither spouse nor brethren, and rarely comes to Valinor. He is ever on the move, exploring the depths of the seas and travelling through streams. For Ulmo is master of all waters in the Worlds, and he prefers to dwell therein and has learned much which might otherwise have been hidden even from Manwe and Varda. He is secretive, but kind and loyal to the purpose of his peers. The shell he uses as a trumpet is his Sigil.

Aule: Spouse of Yavanna, Aule has lordship over all the substances of which the worlds are made and is a master craftsman. He is a smith, and a jeweler, and a shaper of wood, clay, and stone. Though Manwe is brother to Morgoth, Aule is most like him in thought and powers, for both delighted in the praise of others and sought to create things new and unthought of. However, Aule hordes not but gives freely and submits all he makes to the Creator, whereas Morgoth spent his spirit in spite until he could make nothing save in mockery of the works of others. Thus, there was much strife between the two, and Aule wearied of repairing his broken labors. Yet, Aule's chief joy is in the making, moving ever from one task to another, and (also unlike his fallen peer), both gives counsel and willingly receives it from others. A hammer is his Sigil.

Yavanna: Spouse of Aule, sister of Vana, Yavanna is surnamed Queen of the Earth, Kemetari, and the Giver of Fruits. All things which grow are precious to her, especially trees. She loves Aule, but their union is often troubled by those he patronizes, especially those who fell trees for wood. Her sorrow is the greatest for the sufferings of the Worlds, and like her spouse, she grew tired of the many hurts the natural world suffered. Yet, she understands that the natural world's beauty would be lesser if there it were none to admire it and utilize it, and this new generation of nature lovers must bring her solace. Her Sigil is a flower and a tree limb crossed like swords.

Vana: Spouse of Orome, sister to Yavanna, Vana is goddess of the changing seasons. She is a dancer, swift and graceful as the deer her sister loves. Birds sing at her passing, and flowers open when she walks by them. Vana is considered weakest of the gods, though such a title means little when her power is compared to mortals'. Preferring the natural world over civilization even more than Yavana, she is perhaps the least interested in the affairs of lower beings, but is still loyal to the Creator's Pattern and despises evil. A whirlwind of leaves is her Sigil.

Orome: Espoused to Vana, brother to Vaire, he is surnamed Astaldo, the Valiant. His other names are Tulkas and Aldaron, the Lord of Forests. Hunting and combat are his domains, and his favorite prey are monsters and fell beasts. Orome rides the stallion Nahar who can outrun all other things with legs, fins, and wings. Yet, Orome is swift himself, able to outpace all human runners. He is a wrestler, and his anger is fierce. But Orome's fury is slow to awaken; he laughs ever in sport and war and, indeed, laughed as he wrestled Morgoth. Take heed, though, for if Orome is slow to anger, he is also slow to forget. His Sigil is a bow and a sword.

Vaire: Spouse of Nienna, sister to Orome, Vaire is one of the Feanturi, the Lords of Spirits. She dwells with her spouse among the Dead. Vaire is the Weaver, a spinner of dreams and visions. She is also the historian of the Powers, weaving the histories of the Worlds into tapestries that cover the halls of Mandos. Manwe may be the wisest, but Vaire is most knowledgeable. She understands the turning of the Wheel of Time better than all others and knows more than all others, but she only shares her knowledge with her mate or when Manwe commands it. Vaire's Sigil is the black butterfly.

Nienna: Spouse of Vaire, also called Mandos (although that is rightly the name of the pair's dwelling). Nienna rules over the spirits of the departed. She is youngest of the gods, born to replace Morgoth. She is a judge of the dead and doomswoman of the Powers, but she only pronounces her dooms at the behest of Manwe. Nienna is a kind being, for she knows the history of every creature that stands before her, both what it did and why it did so. It is said that the ghosts of the deceased love her more than any other Vala. Rarely does she appear as their queen, more often as their friend, and she is often smiling, happy to greet her subjects. Yet, compassion does not blind her, and when her anger is aroused even Orome is troubled. Her Sigil is the Ankh.

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**Author's Notes: **OK, I'm sure you all recognized that these are mostly the Valar from _The Silmarillion, _with some elements of Neil Gaiman's _The Sandman _added on (Sigil's and the Nienna's character). Nienna exists in this story because Death is my favorite personification/deity of death, and she's "Espoused" to Vaire because a) Lorien was Mandos' brother, and that's just messed up, and b) I really wanted a homosexual couple among the Valar.

Also, it seemed like the only thing Morgoth could be the god of was death, and it works with the idea that Nienna's replacing him, so that's why he was written as ex-ruler of the dead.

OK: Next chapter, describing Mandos and other smaller locations on the Tree.


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